Missteps V.2

Chapter Six - The Cemetery

“Do we even know this Settlement’s name?” Kerri wondered aloud as she plucked leaves off a small branch she carried. “I need a name if I’m going to write a song about it.”

Elaine picked her way past a puddle. “The account I read might have had it, but honestly there was a lot of Dwarven that didn’t translate.”

Lia looked over at Elaine. “Don’t you read Dwarven?”

Elaine shook her head. “The account I found had a Common translation included with it. I’d found it in the Church’s records. Anyone here read Dwarvish?”

Lia waved. “I do.” She was the only one.

The group all traveled in relative silence, their attention more focused on their footing than conversation.

“How much longer?” Ander whined an hour later. His eyes were glued to his feet as he navigated the rocky terrain. Jun kept one eye on the halfling. He had an internal bet on which would topple Ander first, the muddy trail or the lumpy pack on his back.

“Just a couple of hours, maybe a little longer.” Carric kept a little ways out from the main group as he worked to uncover the trail. The storm from last night had turned all the dirt to mud, and the fallen leaves now carpeted the ground. Elaine and Kerri trailed along behind him, catching each other up on what the other missed. Once again, Lia and Iados walked behind Ander. Lia was curious about the moves she’d seen Iados doing that morning. The akudaem was more than happy to explain. As usual, Jun brought up the rear, on the lookout for danger.

Three hours later, the group finally came out of the woods. About a half hour ago the trail had split, and the group had flipped a coin on which road to take. Instead of a settlement, like they’d been expecting, the path continued around a large stone wall. It'd been made out of different sized rocks fitted together just so, to make a beautiful solid wall. Time and the elements had not been kind, as pieces had started to break off and weathering had ground the stones down to pitiful brown patches. The forest was on the cusp of engulfing the wall, and further down the wall they could see where tree roots had already begun to tunnel underneath.

“What do you think’s behind it?” Kerri asked as the group got closer.

“Let’s see.” Iados ran up to the wall. The wall was only about six-foot-high, and with a quick jump, he grasped the edge and pulled himself up as he peered over. “It’s a cemetery.” He announced as he finished pulling himself up and sat on top of the wall. “There’s a big mausoleum building by the gates across the way, and about twenty or so tombstones just scattered about.”

“Not very big then,” Carric mused.

“You said there are tombstones? Are they big boulders?” Lia looked up at Iados.

Iados shook his head. “Nope, just simple rectangular slabs of rock.” Iados explained as he used his hands to convey their medium size.

Lia frowned. “Dwarves usually bury their dead in stone tombs, or consign them by fire.” Lia went silent for a moment. “I want to see more.” Lia approached the wall and jumped like she’d seen Iados do. Almost immediately her fingers began to slide off the rocks. Thankfully Iados had faster reflexes and helped pulled her up and over without a word. As soon as her feet hit the ground on the other side, she knelt and inspected the closest tombstone with barely a pause.

“Well, I guess we’re going over.” Jun positioned himself by the wall, fingers interlocked and ready to help people over. Iados stayed in his perch to assist.

Kerri went first and was up and over without a hitch.

Ander went next. Jun gave him a lift up, and together Ander managed to climb up clumsily towards Iados. Truth be told, Jun and Iados together could have just handed the halfling off like a sack of potatoes, but out of respect they restrained themselves.

Once up, Ander worriedly looked over the side of the 6 ft. wall. “You don’t expect me to just jump down on my own, do you?” He turned to Iados. "I mean, it's a long way down. What if I hurt myself?" Ander gave a big gulp as he white-knuckled the stonework.

Iados looked down at Jun and gave a one shoulder shrug. “You or me?”

Jun sighed and looked over at Carric and Elaine, who still had to go over.

“I can make it over myself, go help Ander.” Elaine said with a smile. Beside her, Carric nodded and waved the big man off.

Jun nodded and effortlessly scaled the wall and went over. Once on the other side he helped Ander down. According to Iados, Ander merely jumped into the berserker’s arms. Ander claimed that he tripped, and Jun swore he couldn’t say one way or the other. However it happened, Ander was glad when he was back on solid ground.

While Ander conquered the wall, Kerri went over to Lia. “What have you found?”

“These tombstones aren’t Dwarven.” Lia clarified. “At least, the names on them aren’t Dwarven.”

She reached out to wipe dust out of the letter cracks. As her hand touched the stonework, a scream wailed from the stone. The sound resonated off the stone walls that surrounded them and echoed into a high pitched whine.

Kerri and Lia both clamped hands over their ears as they backed away from the tombstone. Jun reached for his warhammer as he scanned the grounds, while Ander moved closer to him his own hands over his ears. As soon as the sound had started, it stopped. Elaine and Carric, still on the other side of the wall, didn’t move as they fixed their gazes on the akudaem above them and waited for a sign. Seconds ticked by, and the area was still.

Suddenly the ground beneath their feet began to tremble as a rift formed just in front of Jun and Ander. With a blast of earth, a large bear head covered in tanned leathers ascended from an underground lair. An eerie green light shone out from within the skull.

The skull turned to look at Lia. A dark blue ray jettisoned out of the empty eye sockets. The ray hit her right in the chest, and she crumpled without a word against the stone wall.

A gravelly voice emanated out from the skull in Common. “You are trespassing, leave immediately or die.”

“It could’ve said that before it attacked.” Iados gritted his teeth and pulled out his sword.

“Instead of arguing with it, let’s just knock it down.” Jun adjusted his grip on his warhammer as he moved to block Lia from view. With the skull hovering just over their heads; his action didn’t mean much.

“Never said I wasn’t.” Iados announced, just before he launched himself off the wall. The blade sliced down the side of the skull, tearing a small hole in the dry leather. The akudaem landed gracefully on his feet behind it.

Kerri drew her rapier, and jumped like she tried to swat a piñata above her heard. She hit the skull with a glancing blow.

On the other side of the wall, the floating skull was easily seen over the top. Elaine attempted to climb over, but failed as the stonework crumbled under her foot.

Carric didn’t even try to climb as he pulled his bow out. He took a step back, and let loose an arrow that grazed along the top of the skull.

Ander took a step back and began to cast a spell. He reached out and laid his hand on the nearest tombstone. As he brought his hand away, an opaque residue came with it. Ander balled this residue in his fist. When he hit the last syllable of his incantation, a ghostly hand rocketed out of his closed fist. The hand palmed the creatures jaw, and the already dark leather began to flack away as the whole area turned a mottled black. The effect didn’t last, as the hand dissipated and the black stair retreated.

The skull turned in mid-air and cast its gaze on Iados. A brown ray shot out from its socket and hit the akudaem in the arm. Immediately he groaned and clutched his head. The former pirate didn’t understand why his head swam when he’d been hit in the arm. The more he thought on it, the more confused he got. He shook his head vigorously. This was no time to lose focus. With a shout, he shook off the effects and raised his sword.

Jun growled and jumped up with all his might, the red tint of rage in his eyes. He swung his warhammer in like a bat, and hurled the skull into the stone wall. The skull scattered on impact.

“Elaine, Lia’s hurt!” Kerri yelled over the wall as she sheathed her rapier and ran over to Lia.

Elaine scrambled over the wall, and with Jun’s help made it down quickly. Once down, she ran to the elf. She cupped Lia’s face and sent a quick prayer to Vowil as her hand glowed warmly. As Lia opened her eyes, Elaine stood up and surveyed the rest of the cemetery. She stretched out her hand and made sure that the sun charm around her wrist was visible. The charm glowed as Elaine closed her eyes. She searched for others that wished their group harm, but found nothing.

Ander scrambled over and searched through the bone remanants. He pulled out a broken blue gem. “This thing wasn’t natural.”

Kerri put her hands on her hips. “You don’t say.” She shook her head and peered into the hole it had burst out of. “What do you think it was doing here?”

“Guarding, obviously.” Iados hopped up onto one of the tombstones. “It called us trespassers.” He turned his attention over to the mausoleum. “We should check out that place out.”

Carric plopped down over the wall finally. “What are we checking out?”

“The mausoleum.” Iados pointed towards the structure. “I’m thinking there’s something in there.”

Carric nodded. “Well, since the exit is over there as well, I don’t see why not. It is on the way.”

Elaine shook her head and moved to stand in front of them. “I cannot condone grave robbing. Breaking into a tomb is downright sacrilege, and we have no reason to desecrate the dead.”

Ander scoffed. “If you ask me, burying an enchanted bear skull in amongst the dead already desecrated the place. Besides, aren’t you at least a little curious in what might be hiding in the mausoleum?”

"No.” Elaine said firmly. “What right do we have to disturb their rest?”

Ander opened his mouth to respond, but Jun cut him off.

“Listen, let’s just head to the gates for now.” He stepped up between the two parties. “If the mausoleum looks suspicious, or something happens, then we can investigate. Our first priority though should be our own lives though, not treasure. Can we at least agree on that?” Everyone nodded.

The group headed towards the main gates. A gravel road led straight to the gates for the final fifty feet. The mausoleum sat adjacent to the gates along the same road. Its entrance was about halfway down the road. Between the road and the wall across from the mausoleum, was just a straight patch of overgrown grass. Along the patch were four medium sized stones spaced evenly apart all the way down to the gates.

Warily, the group headed down the road. Jun, Iados, and Lia were at the head, while Kerri and Ander trailed along behind. Elaine and Carric decided to stay off the road and walk alongside the edge of the mausoleum instead. Elaine didn’t even try to hide the stink eye she sent to Ander, Iados, and Carric as they neared the entrance to the tomb.

As the trio approached the third stone, Kerri behind them crossed in front of the first stone. A loud crack filled the air around them. Like before, earth spewed up in the air. This time four humanoids broke out of the ground in between the stones. There were three men and a woman, all in ragged clothes, their eyes sunken, and their skin drawn in, pinched, and ashen. Their pupil-less eyes fixated on the intruders.

Ander was the first to act. He stepped up next to Kerri and brought his hands up in front of him. A fan of flame swept towards two of the closet creatures. The two of them, one man in a faded red tunic and a woman in a torn grey dress, began to smoke, but didn’t slow down.

“Hey Cleric,” Ander yelled out, as he took a step backward. “Is it still ‘disrespecting the dead’ if the dead are moving?”

Red and Grey staggered over to the halfling and smashed at him with their fists. Ander fell backwards under their heavy blows and was soon unconscious. Once he went down, Red turned his attention towards Kerri, while Grey marched on towards Jun.

Lia pulled out her Quarterstaff and backed away from the zombies. She watched in silent horror as they swarmed Ander. She wanted to help but she still wasn’t a hundred percent after the encounter with the skull, and she froze.

Kerri pulled her rapier out. She yelled out a word of healing to the fallen halfling as she surveyed the scene. Ander came back to conscious with a zombie still standing over him. He closed his eyes again and played dead.

Carric pulled out his bow and moved so he could have a clear shot at Red. The arrow he released grazed the undead’s arm.

Elaine cursed under her breath as she pulled out her crossbow. “Not killing them would be disrespectful.” She brought the crossbow up and fired at Red. With a thud, the bolt stuck in the zombie’s forehead, and he fell on top of Ander.

Ander gave a gasp of pain as the much larger creature crashed down on him. The halfling crawled out from under Red and went to go stand by Kerri.

“I thought zombies like this were just myths.” Kerri darted over closer to Elaine.

“Well, myths are grounded in truths.” Elaine growled as she readied another bolt. She and Kerri both watched in horror as Red shakily stood back up and lumbered up to Kerri. The bard brought her rapier up just in time to deflect the blow. The zombie’s strength sent a jar up her arm.

Carric moved behind Red and sank an arrow in his back. Red once again crumpled to the ground. With an inhuman groan, the undead creature stood back up again and took a swipe at Ander. Ander ducked out of the way and Carric sent Red another arrow to the chest that took him down, again.

Ander, his curiosity getting the best of him went to look at the pin cushioned Red. Just as Ander leaned down over him, Red’s arm slammed up and smashed into Ander’s face. Ander barely had time to gasp before he fell unconscious. Carric shot Red once more, this time in the stomach. After, he waited, arrow nocked, in case the zombie stood up again. This time Red stayed down.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Meanwhile, the doors to the mausoleum had opened and three more zombies came down the short stairs to enter the fray. One of them, a woman in a black dress, headed straight for Elaine and Kerri. The other two left to join the crowd around Iados and Jun.

Kerri stepped forward in front of Elaine and brandished her rapier out in front of her. Black raised her fists to attack but missed her footing on the last step and missed.

Elaine fired her crossbow. The bolt left a bloodless gash in Black’s cheek as it careened by.

Lia ran up to Black with her quarterstaff out. She swung and clipped the zombie’s shoulder.

Kerri thrusted with her rapier and connected with the zombie’s side. Elaine moved away to provide some assistance to Jun and Iados.

Black reached out to hit Kerri but was parried by the thin blade.

Lia swung out and hit Black in the back, hard with her quarterstaff. Kerri swung once again with her rapier and pierced the zombie’s neck. A black liquid began to ooze out of the wound. Kerri jerked her weapon out and Black toppled to the ground.

Lia turned to go help elsewhere, when Black suddenly reached out a hand and grabbed hold of Lia’s ankle. Lia reactively stabbed down with her quarterstaff, a lot. The hand around her ankle loosened as Black sank back down. Lia scrambled backwards, while Kerri came up and stabbed the body a couple of times, just to be sure.

"Ok, I think hate zombies." Kerri commented as she reached up and moved a stray strand of hair off her sweat covered face. Lia nodded in agreement.

Out of the original four, two of them had bee-lined for the large berserker. A man in a green tunic, and a man with only the upper half of a shirt. Green introduced himself with a hearty slam on Jun’s shoulder.

Iados pulled his sword out and moved around, closer to Green. He wanted to make sure that he wasn’t near enough to Jun when he swung that warhammer. Iados swung out and carved a slice down Green’s arm, followed up with a sidekick to the midsection. His foot came away with a bit of ooze on the heel.

Jun let the rage wash over him as he aimed a savage strike towards Green’s side. The hammer visibly sank into the torso and the air filled with the sound of broken bones. Green still stood but now he leant to the left.

Grey lumbered up behind Jun after she pummeled Ander. With the rage boiling through him, Jun barely felt the slam on his shoulder. Half-Shirt and Green tried to attack the berserker at the same time, but got in each other’s way and made the other miss.

Iados gave a small pout. “What, am I not worth your time?” He watched the zombies tangled each other up. As if in response, the mausoleum opened, and two more zombies headed towards him. One was in a blue tunic, and the other was just shirtless. Just as they reached the pack, Lia stepped forward.

“Brace yourselves!” She called out. She closed her eyes and concentrated, her hand held out as she mumbled under her breath. Green energy gathered in her fingertips before it shot out and hit the earth beneath Iados’s feet. Weeds and vines sprang forth and curled around anything and anyone in a twenty-foot square. Jun, Iados, Grey, and Half-Shirt all managed not to be stuck fast. The other zombies, not so lucky.

Iados turned to the stuck Green and felled him with a combo attack of sword and fist till he hung limply in the vines.

Even though Half-Shirt had managed not to be tangled in the vines, he still stood next to Jun. Jun tensed his muscles and wrested himself out of the vines. His warhammer was thrown back into Half-Shirt’s torso, and the whole ribcage flattened. Half-Shirt fell back and lay sprawled on the bed of vines.

Ander considered sending another fire burst out into the vines but reconsidered due to Jun and Iados. They had saved him multiple times already, and Jun technically worked for him. Instead the wizard sent a bubble of caustic liquid that sprayed across Grey and Blue. Grey was hit right in the face, and the liquid burned away an entire cheek, while Blue got away with only a slightly pockmarked arm.

Iados turned to Shirtless just as he broke free. The akudaem hit him with a deep slash down his torso. He attempted to kick the zombie’s knee out, to no avail. However, Iados did see a tattoo on the zombie’s torso, a pirate tattoo.

His attention on the tattoo was broken by the sound of Kerri’s voice.

“These guys are slow,

And surely reek.

Just hit them low,

Cause boy, they weak.”

Shirtless reached out and landed a punch on Iados’s shoulder. The response was a sword blade to the gut, followed by a punch to the head. Shirtless fell back into the vines and Iados was left with black gunk on his hand.

Just as Iados turned his back to look for another threat, Shirtless suddenly lunged out with a guttural moan. Iados turned around, his sword up, and with one swing decapitated the zombie.

Back at Jun, Grey raised her arms to attack again, but got tangled in the vines. She broke free and went for Jun again, but he moved out of the way. Before she could get another chance, he turned and with a simple swing of his warhammer laid her out in the vines.

Elaine sent a bolt that whistled past Jun’s ear and right into the chest of Blue. No matter how much the blue-shirted zombie struggled, he just couldn’t get the leverage needed to break free. Jun slammed his warhammer into Blue’s face, and broke his nose. As Jun brought his warhammer away, Elaine shot another bolt to Blue’s torso and he went limp in his bonds.

“Jun, would you get those bolts for me?” Elaine called out.

“Sure,” Jun reached towards the zombie’s head. Just as he did, Blue’s eyes snapped open and he reached out in an attempt to bite Jun’s fingers. Before Jun could react, Carric ran up and shot an arrow into the zombie’s skull. The zombie fell limp once again.

“Could you grab my arrow as well?” Carric asked as Elaine joined him at the edge of the vines. Lia came to stand next to them, and with a wave of her hand the vines began to wilt.

Jun looked at Blue suspiciously, warhammer at the ready. Just as his fingers were about to grab the arrow, the berserker suddenly slammed his warhammer one last time into the zombie’s head. Both arrow and bolts were broken.

Jun turned to face the trio and shrugged. “She twitched.” Carric sighed and walked away without a word.

With her spell gone, Lia went over to Ander and cast a healing spell.

“Are you alright?” She helped him sit up.

“Let’s just say I officially have zombies on my hate list.” He rubbed his shoulder. “Man, those guys could hit.”

Elaine stared down at the corpses in disgust. “Zombies are merely shells, with no semblance to their former lives. There’s a reason the magic community condemned and outlawed this kind of magic.”

“Just ‘zombie magic’ or are we talking general ‘undead’ magic?” Iados walked over to the grass and tried to get the zombie goo off his foot and sword.

“I mean any magic that disturbs the dead and goes against the natural path of death.” Elaine clarified.

Jun settled down on one of the rocks as his rage subsided. “I wasn’t even aware that kind of magic existed.” Carric nodded in agreement.

“The magic community outlawed any magic having to do with the dead.” Ander repeated. “Years and years ago, evil factions used it to fuel their armies. Those factions used their undead soldiers to fight their enemies, whoever they might have been.” He looked at the corpses. “Because of the pain and destruction they caused, it was agreed that the dead should just stay dead.”

“Not all magic like that is evil though.” Lia argued. “There are spells out there that not only resurrect the dead, but also allows a creature’s soul back into the body. They are brought back as fully living creatures, and not as these abominations.” She gestured down at the zombies.

Elaine shook her head. “Doesn’t matter, we’re taught that death is nothing to be afraid of, and if anything it should be honored. Besides, with those kinds of spells success isn’t guaranteed, and they’re not cheap.” Elaine narrowed her eyes. “How do you even know about them?”

Lia crossed her arms. “I’m 125 years old and part of a secret Elven society, I know things. How do you know about them?”

“My Master told me, using them as an example of church politics.” Elaine answered matter-of-factly as she stared down the elf. “Since the spell itself eats so much money as a sacrifice, in the past churches had to charge exorbitant amounts just to cover it. Some churches charged more for a profit.”

“So, the power of life and death comes down to politics and money.” Carric summed up as he went around and tried to yank his arrows out of the corpses. Unfortunately, only one was usable.

“You guys notice anything about these corpses?” Ander asked, as he changed the subject. “They’re all humans, none of these zombies are Dwarven.”

“Were there any humans in the settlement to begin with?” Kerri looked up at Elaine.

Elaine shook her head. “Not according to the record. The only humans mentioned were the ones that came with the dwarf cleric to repurpose the mine.”

“Looks like he repurposed them as well.” Jun stood up. “I think it’s time to check out the mausoleum, unless you have any objections?” He turned to Elaine.

Elaine sighed. "I guess not since we saw zombies come out of there as well.” She headed up to the entrance, and peeked in. She reached into her pack and pulled out two sticks. She touched the tip of each stick as she mumbled a single word, and the tip of each stick flared into light as a soft glow emanated from there. She kept one for herself and handed the other to Ander. Lia held out the end of her quarterstaff, and Elaine cast the light spell on the end of it as well.

Jun stood guard outside, and kept a wary eye on the zombie corpses as everyone herded inside.

The first thing that hit them was the stench. It was the same smell that had wafted off the bodies outside, but it was much more concentrated in the small chamber. The second thing everyone noticed was that it seemed devoid of anymore zombies.

In the middle of the room were three tombs. Their lids were slid off and laid broken on the floor next to them. Etched along the sides of each tomb were simple shapes, flowers, and religious symbols that Elaine confirmed weren’t Dwarven to her knowledge. Along the back wall were two elaborate tapestries. Each tapestry went from floor to ceiling, about ten feet up by at least that much across.

Ander’s gaze was fixated on the tombs. He whispered a spell and a magical film covered his eyes. He was silent as he swept his gaze over each tomb, his grin growing larger by the second.

“Each tomb is giving off magic!” The small wizard practically skipped over to the tomb on the left. He ran his eyes and fingers over the etchings as he scanned for any sign of how to uncover the magic he had seen within it. He took several minutes to examine all four sides of the tomb, before he finally resorted to crawling inside the tomb. The huff that escaped his lips was not one of success.

As Ander searched his tomb alone, the others divided up the remaining two tombs. Elaine and Kerri chose the middle tomb to search. Almost immediately, Elaine could see the faint outline of a false wall on the inside of the tomb. She did a quick check of the outside and found the hidden latch in the petal of a flower. When she pushed it in, the hidden compartment popped open. Kerri gingerly pulled out a potion bottle filled with a green syrupy liquid. The label affixed to the outside was worn, but Kerri could just barely make out the Dwarven writing.

That left Iados and Lia to search the right tomb. All it took was one look inside the tomb for Iados to find the hidden compartment. Lia searched the outside, and found the latch tucked up underneath the carving of a man. Inside the compartment they also found a potion bottle, this one with a red viscous liquid inside. The ink on the label had rubbed off so much it was impossible to read.

Elaine and Lia met up and conferenced on the bottles. Elaine closed her eyes and laid her Holy Symbol on the red liquid bottle and found it to be a healing potion of considerable power.

Lia looked closely at the Dwarven script on the bottle, but it too was too smudged to read.

Foregoing the tombs, Carric instead started on a quick walk of the interior of the chamber, just to make sure there weren't any more surprises. He knocked on the walls and searched for secret compartments in the floor. He'd made it about halfway around when he got bored and wandered over to look at the tombs.

With a huff of annoyance, the halfling went to examine the tapestries instead, leaving Carric alone at the tomb. One of the tapestries depicted a group of followers in black robes, with their hands raised to something obscured in the top corner. The other showcased the dead rising from their graves. Ander lifted up the ends of both tapestries and looked behind them, but all he found was dust. Neither tapestry was in good condition, as closer inspection showed several bare spots and insect bites.

Kerri joined Carric at the tomb that Ander had given up on. They leant their heads in over the side, and strained to see the outlines that had led to the other hidden compartments.

“Are you sure all the tombs gave off magic? Maybe the magic you sensed was just leftover zombie?” Kerri wrinkled her nose. “That smell in there sure is.”

Elaine walked over and surveyed the inside too. After a minute, she gestured to a spot in the left-hand corner. “There.” She traced out a very faint outline of a small compartment. Elaine, Kerri, and Carric combed the outside the tomb again, but they couldn’t find the latch. Iados and Lia wondered over to see if they could help, with Ander rushing over.

Jun poked his head in. “Find anything? It’s quiet out here.”

Kerri walked over to the doorway. “We can’t find the latch to open the last compartment.” Behind her, Ander angrily kicked the stone tomb, a move he instantly regretted.

Jun shook his head and walked over. He shooed everyone away from the tomb, and swung with his warhammer. His aim wasn’t the best, but he managed to break off a good chuck of the corner where the compartment was. A small, long, rectangular box tumbled out of the hole and onto the floor. Ander dove to snatch it first.

The box had a small lock on it. Ander grabbed a nearby chuck of stone and banged on the lock with fierce determination. Jun sighed after about a minute of no progress. He knelt down, and smashed the lock open with the hilt of his dagger.

Jun handed the box back to the giddy wizard. Inside was a scroll.

“Remind me not to get between him and treasure.” Carric whispered to Kerri as they watched Ander’s eyes dart back and forth as he read the scroll.

“What is it?” Kerri tried to peer over Ander’s shoulder.

“It’s a spell scroll containing a high-level spell.” Ander rolled the scroll back up and stuffed it back in the box, and then into his pack. “That’s all I know for the moment without being able to examine it properly. Did you guys find out what the potions are?”

“One is a healing potion, but we can’t identify the other one.” Lia handed the green potion to Ander.

Ander’s hand glowed as he laid it on the outside of the bottle. “It has to do with healing, but that’s all I can find out.” He shrugged and held it out. Elaine took the potion and examined it again, this time with ‘healing’ in mind.

“It might be some sort of vitality potion.” Elaine sighed and put it into her bag.

“Do you think there’s anything else in here?” Ander’s eyes scanned the rest of the mausoleum. “I mean, that bear skull and a ton of zombies are a lot of security for a couple of potions and spell scroll.” Ander headed back over to the tapestries, and disappeared behind them as he did an in-depth look at the wall.

Carric resumed his wall knocking, as Jun imitated him on the opposite wall. Kerri sat down on one of the lids and leaned back. Iados and Lia sat on the edge of one of the tombs. Elaine walked around the room and slowly pounded on the ground with her mace.

The mace hit the stone next to the door and gave off a hollow sound. “I think I found something.” Elaine called out. She knelt down and saw a square of stone that was darker in color than the rest of the floor. Everyone crowded around.

Iados knelt down next to her and worked a small knife under the stone floor. In the middle of the dirt underneath was a large square hole. An empty hole.

“Well, there was something here.” Iados shoved one of the torch sticks in the hole. “It’s gone now.”

“That sucks.” Ander peered in the hole.

“Maybe whatever was here got moved to the mines?” Elaine suggested. Ander perked back up.

“Right! Let’s go then.” Ander headed towards the door. Jun reached out and grabbed the halfling's collar.

“How about we take a proper break here first.” Jun suggested. “Who knows what we’ll find in town. We should eat and make a plan.”

Jun let go of Ander after the halfling nodded reluctantly. Carric passed out rations as Kerri pulled out her lute and played a soft little tune to help them rest and recover. Ander and Lia took the opportunity to go over their spells again. Given the dangers they’d faced already, they wanted to reflect on some, while they made sure they had the components for others.

“Its times like this I wish I had a focus.” Lia grumbled as she took stock of her dwindling supplies.

“I hear you.” Ander said as he rummaged around in his bag.

Lia’s head tilted in confusion. “What about the crystal around your neck?” She pointed to his amulet.

“This?” Ander held up the crystal amulet. “This was a gift from my girlfriend. She gave it to me when I left.” He smiled at the memory and looked down at the crystal. “She said it’d help me even in the darkest cave.”

“She sounds lovely.” Lia smiled. “My uncle gave me something when I left home too.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a long, smooth stick. “It’s made of yew wood. He said it’d come in handy, but I haven't been able to get it to work.” Ander reached out for the stick and Lia handed it over. His hand glowed for a moment over the wood before he grinned.

“This stick is a wand, perfect for being used as a focus.” He handed the wand back. For fun, he went ahead and checked out his crystal, and let out a small gasp. “And I seemed to have underestimated by girlfriend.” He laughed.

“While I appreciate his gesture, I’ll think I’ll stick with my components for now. Working a quarterstaff and a wand at the same time might get a little awkward.” Lia smiled as she stowed the wand away again. Now that he knew he had a tool for focusing his spells, Ander gave Lia some of his components he no longer needed.

Meanwhile, Elaine had recruited Jun and Iados to help her stack the zombie bodies so she could burn them. They’d only just started when Carric pointed out that everything was too wet from the rain for a significant bonfire. Their short break ended up lasting for an hour or so, as Elaine instead changed gears and had everyone help toss the bodies into the bear skull’s hole.

“How do we know that burying them won’t just give them strength?” Ander asked as he snacked on some nuts nearby.

“We don’t, but we have to at least give them a chance at peace.” Elaine grunted as she rolled a body into the hole. “It’s bad enough someone animated them, but to just leave them out to the elements would be disrespectful.”

Iados stood up and patted dirt off his pants. “If I understood the conversation earlier though, these guys were just bodies, no souls. Isn’t the soul part what people care about?”

Elaine flicked her eyes towards the akudaem as she wiped dirt off her hands. “So when you die, I assume you’d want your body reanimated and used for nefarious purposes? Or, do you want your body just left out and exposed?”

Iados didn’t answer.

“I have to agree with Elaine, at least with burying the bodies.” Carric walked over with a slab of broken stone in his hand. “This way the ground will block some of the smell and hopefully not attract a whole lot of wildlife.”

“What’s the worst that can be out here?” Kerri asked from her tombstone perch. “Bears?”

Carric used the stone as a shovel as he moved the dirt. “Bears, and some others.” He paused for a moment as Jun kicked the large skull into the pit as well. “It’s getting late in the year, and quite a few species are getting hungry as they get ready to sleep.”

“So, we need to be quick about exploring the mines and the settlement?” Iados concluded, “Why didn’t we take the time to bury the goblins or bandit bodies?” He kicked a small mound of dirt into the hole.

“Simple, we didn’t stick around the area.” Carric went back to his shoveling. “I assume we’ll be here for a couple of days.” Jun joined him and soon the hole was full.

Before they left the area, Elaine knelt and sent a small prayer up to her deity as she asked for comfort for the souls of those whose remains had been disturbed.